Mental Health services provided at Hazelden are based on the fundamental belief in the inherent worth and dignity of each human personality; that patients presenting for services experience some degree of distress, which in turn merits the staff members' efforts to intervene and work toward resolution. Relying on scientific knowledge, the Mental Health Professional utilizes a variety of assessment, consultative, and treatment techniques to promote each patient's capacity for recovery. Through the identification of individual differences, the Mental Health Professional strives to describe varying learning styles, personality traits, mental health problems, cultural influences, and personal strengths in an effort to develop strategies to alleviate, reduce, or eliminate obstacles to successful participation in treatment and recovery.

The philosophy of the Mental Health Centers is based on the following assumptions:

• Alcohol and drug dependency is a primary illness which is biologically based and influenced by a number of social, psychological, spiritual, and cultural factors.
• Twelve Step methodology is a highly effective, far-reaching approach in the resolution of addiction.
• As a biologically based illness, alcohol and drug dependency coexist and is superimposed over a range of individual differences such as sexual orientation, cultural differences, mental disorders, physical ability, personality characteristics, and learning styles.
• The effectiveness of treatment for alcohol and drug dependency is enhanced through the application of sound mental health practice in an effort to ensure the accurate identification and description of individual differences in an effort to personalize treatment, thus maximizing each patient's capacity for recovery.
• Frequently, chemically dependent individuals suffer from coexisting mental health problems that demand more intensive, non-routine psychological services such as individual counseling, group therapy, specialized assessment, crisis intervention, and continuing care mental health planning.

Mental Health Centers - main page